Stand! Queen of the Universe!
by RMXStudio
Summary: Three years after being falsely imprisoned in the Maggot's nest, Ichigo's hidden reiatsu awakens, but will he be able to stop Aizen as his plan comes closer to being complete without his former friends? Fem!Ichi, no parings w/ main character
1. Please Believe Me

**Hello~ This is the first chappie to my Bleach fanfic! I had been holding this one back for a while, but since I kinda lost my muse for Mother of the Noah for a short time, I'll start putting these up. The chappies will be relatively shorter...no, they WILL be MUCH shorter, I'll be able to update this story much faster!**

**This is my first Bleach fanfic. Please take it easy on me. If you don't like Fem!Ichi, then leave. It's gonna pop up sooner or later.**

**Disclaimer: If I dun own -Man, I dun own Bleach...*sob***

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><p>Deep in Maggot's Nest, Ichigo was thinking to himself. Anyone would start thinking after having been locked into the deepest part of Maggot's Nest even though just a few days ago you were above ground eating with your friends. Somehow, though, he was being accused of something that he had no idea of. What had he done?<p>

A door opened in front of his cell, letting the slight light of a dim fire into the pitch-black area. When he looked up from the dull ground, he looked into the violet eyes of Rukia. For some reason, they held a heavy hatred. She had come to report news to him.

She was slightly surprised when his eyes went wide when he heard that he wouldn't be getting out any time soon. He was being charged with treason. Many of the so called "capital offenses" that he was told that he had committed made him angry. He had not, under any circumstances, abandoned his fellow men during the last battle with the arrancar. He was told that he had told those who were under him at the time to retreat during the harshest attacks and let the others take the toll.

Of course, he had rejected such offences, but somehow, Rukia didn't believe him. She knew that the crimes didn't sound like him, but didn't believe him nonetheless. Her eyes were cold toward him as he yelled and asked her to believe him, but she pushed his pleading aside. She called him a coward for rejecting what he had done and to abandon his own former comrades in the middle of a battle.

He was also told that he was being requested for a few experiments by Capitan Kurotsuchi. They were currently debating whether or not they should accept his request. They were leaning toward yes. Of course, she said that she wasn't too opposed to it either. Upon saying this, she watched as his face became downcast, his bangs covering his eyes. He then asked silently what the others positions on this was. She said that some of them were about the same as her. She also informed him that Orihime was heartbroken and that it was his entire fault.

He then seemed to retreat within himself. No longer saying anything or responding to her biting words anymore, he just sat there chained to the wall. Rukia seemed to get that he no longer wished to converse with her, so she left him once again in the pitch black of the lowest area of the Maggot's Nest. That was three years ago.


	2. Thoughts and Grievences

**_Sorry that this chapter is so short...Sorry for the wait...MOTN chapter 11 still isn't finished...please wait for that...thank you all for tolerating me...this chapter probably sucks...maybe, maybe not...if there is a way to improve, please let me know...thank you all so much...y'all are awesome...I'm going to watch _****_Cowboy Bebop_****_ now...peace out homies...oh and try lemon slices with sugar...that is the shizz... :/_**

**_-JD_**

**_DISCLAIMER: If you don't know that I don't own BLEACH, you're probably a little twisted in the head...no offence._**

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><p>Yuzu sighed heavily from her spot on the bed. It had been three years…three years since Rukia left the house with Ichigo to fight in the Winter War…three years since she had seen her brother's face…and in all honesty, to her, it was quite depressing. Karin, who had always been quite tough, was even caught longing for her brother. Their father, though, had always been openly worried and they could tell that he missed sparring with his son at random times of the day. Who knew that life without the ever-frowning orange head would be so much more boring and lifeless than before?<p>

She sighed for the twenty fifth time that day.

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><p>Tatsuki was very concerned. Class was…boring. Tiring even. But why would that be? It was getting closer and closer to graduation time and…well…it could be that Ichigo wasn't there. After he left, it seemed that things had gotten a lot calmer. Too calm. She honestly was used to having a hot-headed "strawberry" running around, ending fights he never started, being his usual grumpy self, and just…always being there. Even Keigo and Mizuiro had lost their original vigor without him around. Mizuiro hardly ever talked anymore. That was ultimately a shocker for just about everyone. Keigo was still annoyingly funny, but not nearly as much as he used to be.<p>

Orihime, who occasionally visited Tatsuki at her home, had not brought any word. In fact, she seemed to avoid talking about him all together. Tatsuki would plan on cornering her in the conversations that they would have and address Ichigo, but she would always find a way to avoid it. Why she would try in the first place is what disturbed her the most.

She hadn't had contact with Uryu or Chad much. Though she would occasionally see them fighting off hollows in the real world, they didn't attend school as much as they used to. But since their homework was always getting done, the teachers didn't look too much into it. Besides, the Shinigami would brainwash them before they asked if they tried anyway. Yet with all that was happening, Tatsuki was not satisfied. She missed her childhood friend dearly.

She turned her head to the window that Ichigo would often look out of. In the distance, you could see small mountain peaks poking up. She smiled a bit. It was quite the view, even from inside the class and it somehow made her feel a little less lonely.

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><p>Kenpachi sat with a scowl on his face, contemplating what he had heard a few days ago. Ichigo was accused of betraying Soul Society by telling the location of the Shinigami and dispersing from his duties, resulting in the martyr of many lives. Even just hearing it sounded stupid.<p>

Though he wasn't one much for politics, he could tell when someone was getting falsely accused just because he know Ichigo. He wouldn't do such a thing, even if the letters written to Hueco Mundo and other evidences told him otherwise. Even Yachiru could see that something was up. If it wasn't his fault like he believed, then someone went through great lengths to do this and had been planning it for a long time.

He adjusted his position in his chair before standing to his feet. He grabbed his sword with heavy hands and waited as a not so happy Yachiru climbed upon his shoulder. He growled before leaving the room, wanting grimly to slash something as of then.

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><p>Rukia listened to the conversation of the Gotei 13 silently as it regarded to Ichigo's punishment. She hated his betrayal, but deep down inside…she felt regret. For some reason, it was almost as if she were the betrayer other than one of the ones who had been betrayed. As the meeting took a short break to stretch their legs, Rukia walked out to the open courtyard where she found Renji. He was staring out at the scenery, not really paying attention to anything else around him. Walking up behind him, she tapped his shoulder.<p>

"I don't want to talk about this right now." he grumbled.

"We don't have to. We could talk about something else." she assured.

"How can I when there's nothing else to really talk about but…"

"I know this is hard, but if Ichigo did this, then he must pay the price."

"I know…but why do I feel like we're making a big mistake? He's been in the Maggot's Nest for three years and the captains still haven't made a decision because some think that he's innocent, some think he's not, and others just don't know what to think. Even evidence says that he's been communicating with Hueco Mundo and telling the espada our plans and locations…yet still, I get a deep feeling in my gut that if he gets punished, that we would make a big mistake…"

"To be honest, keeping him away from his family as he is now is probably torture to him…" she responded, remembering the love he had shown for his family, "He would do anything to protect them…"

Her face brightened in realization.

"What if…he were threatened into doing it? What if they said that they would murder his family if he didn't give the information? Though the treason would still be over his head, he would have a motive. As of now, no one has come up with a motive for his actions yet!"

"What?" Renji asked emptily.

"Whatever," she grumbled, "I need to tell them this at the restart of the meeting."

As she ran off toward the meeting hall, she didn't notice the slight increase of a certain aura coming from deep off somewhere.

It was the aura of sorrow.


	3. BloodRed Princess

**Wow...I am very much ashamed of myself right now. MOTN still hasn't been updated and the chapter is not nearly as complete as I want it to be. I really don't have much to say other than sorry. Things have been really stressful since summer started since I started taking care of kids in a summer program to get my community service hours so I can graduate from high school...sucks right? It's like...I'm at a job and I'm not getting paid. I happen to like money... Anywho. I deeply apologize, oh fans of MOTN if you are reading this. I will try to post it as fast and effeciently as I can. Please be patient with me.  
>- JD<strong>

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Ichigo would've been a...oh...I don't want to spoil this chappie for you, now do I?**

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><p>"<em>Day 1,095…"<em> a lonesome figure sitting in the dark thought to himself.

Ichigo had been counting down the days since he had last seen sunlight. Counting down the days since he was put into his hellhole. Counting down the days since he had been betrayed by his former friends. Counting down the days since he had last seen his family…and he missed them dearly. He wished that he could hug his sisters and ask them about what had been going on in their lives while he was in battle. He wouldn't even mind a short conversation with his father. He occasionally wished that he had spent more time with them. But that was all he could do…wish.

Hearing a small creak from somewhere, he looked to his side to find a rat biting at the metal chain on his left leg. Though it was pitch dark, his eyes were now quite adjusted to the dark and light would probably be blinding for him. He didn't bother trying to move the thing since he knew that it would probably bite him out of anger from being interrupted from filing its teeth down. It had happened once before, so he knew.

He was covered in cuts and bites, in a matter of fact. He had been irritated and wanted to fight them off before, but now, he just stayed still. Not moving just so happened to prevent the bites. But even the vermin and the injuries that they occasionally caused didn't amount up to the heaviness and pain in his heart when he was betrayed by his own friends. They thought that he had abandoned them…without question. Did they really think so lowly of him?

Thinking about it couldn't help but make him tired. Every single time he would think about how he couldn't prove his innocence…it made him want to rest and hope that he would wake up from the supposedly horrible dream.

"I've been abandoned. After all that I've done for them, they abandon me…Why should I help them then? Haven't they wasted enough of my life? I want to get out of here…"

When his eyes shut, he didn't notice the sudden faint reiatsu that had begun to form within him.

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><p>It was dark, yet how could it be dark when the sky was white? The sun and the moon were out at the same time. They were both a strange color of grey. The water was black and just about everything else was black or white. Ichigo was standing on what seemed to be the edge of a cove. In the middle of it there was a dead, warped bush sitting on a small isle, tall and arching like the opening to a garden. Though it didn't bloom, somehow he could tell that it was probably a strawberry bush. How uncanny. But what was even odder was the little grey girl sitting under the arch. Her hair was spiky at the back and he could see her bangs lay over her face. He couldn't tell what kind of kimono she wore because her whole being was grey. The only things with color there were he and the mask that she wore. It was his hollow mask.<p>

Slowly, her head rose to look at him. His deep honey brown met glowing…red. It wasn't the usual yellow color that appeared when he put it on. Who was this girl? He watched carefully as he saw her body twitch, as if she were on a television screen that wasn't clear. They just seemed to stare at each other for a while as the twitching got worse. Finally, Ichigo broke the stare to look at the darkness that was the water before looking back at her. Her hand had risen with one finger pointing at him. She was calling him.

Without a second thought, he stepped into the wetness, discovering that the water was slowly receding. With every step closer to her that he took, at least a centimeter of water disappeared from around him. The color of everything began to die out. The sky was turning from its original white to a grey similar to the sun and moon. Seeing this as something urgent, he rushed the rest of the way across what was left of that depressing body of water. Finally, he stood in front of the young girl. She looked up at him from behind the mask with something akin to sorrow. He realized that they were very much alike. They had both reached a point of sadness, and they had no friends to comfort them in any way. They were both looking for someone to talk to, someone to talk back to them, someone to even help carry their burdens.

They had been looking for each other.

Suddenly, breaking the silence that had been there since they came face to face, the girl spoke in a broken, slightly mechanical voice.

_"Do-…you ac-c-c-c-c-cept me?"_

"..._"_

"_Wil….will…you ace-e-ept m-m-m-me?"_

"…Yeah. I accept you…"

Somehow, he could sense her smile under the mask. It wasn't a smirk, nor was it a grin. Just a simple, tiny little smile.

"_P-p-please then…t-t-t-take o-o-off my m-m-m-ma-a-a-a….mask…"_

Quietly, he got on one knee, took one of her small hands into his own, and began lifting the mask with the other hand.

"_I-t's nice…it's nice to se-e-e-e-…see you again…"_

When the mask was placed to the side of the left side of the girl's face, he was met with a shocking sight as the color began to come back to her body and her voice began to sound more human. Her hair turned a bright orange, her skin turned to a slightly tanned creamy color, and her eyes remained red. The kimono was red like blood, lighter red near the top turning to a darker red as it went down her body. Though he didn't see it, a white, black, and orange dragon on the back of her kimono began to move slightly, blinking and stretching. Then a purple reiatsu began to engulf the dragon as well as the girl. The reiatsu ran up Ichigo's arm to the rest of his body as he felt a change go through him. With wide eyes, he stared at the girl as she began to disappear into reiatsu. He finally realized what the girl was.

It was himself.

"_Ichigo…"_

Then her body completely disappeared.

When Ichigo looked up at the arch of what used to be a bush, he watched in amazement as leaves began to pop up on its dead body. With the deep green leaves, bright white flowers with yellow buds in the middle began to appear also. The sky began to turn black, starting from what looked like the center of the sky, working its way outward. The sun seemed to be consumed by the darkness. The water began to come back, rushing like a raging river, only this time, the water was a pure white. Glowing white lights began to float in the air as a wind that didn't exist before wafted through empty space. Upon taking sight to the bush again, it was no longer dead, every little nook and cranny seemingly refilled with life. Bright red strawberries hung from the bush, as if they would never spoil. Then, something took interest within the orange-haired one. The moon had begun to change color. It started from the middle, just like the sky had, as a red hue began to take over the moon. It began to swirl in, as if it were a liquid…as if it were blood. Finally, the last touch had been made to the little world.

When Ichigo looked down at himself, he found that he was wearing the kimono that the little Ichigo-girl had been wearing before. He also found that "he" was no longer a "he"…yet he didn't freak out about it. Somehow, he…no…she had been like this once. Even if for a second, that "he" had been a "she" at least once before in "his" life. She felt completely comfortable in her body. She felt as if she had filled a hole that developed after all of those years of existence in the world. She felt complete. Just as she looked to the sky, the beautiful dragon on the back of her kimono let out a roar that resonated throughout the entire area.

Her entire being had been restored.


	4. The Awakening

**Hello, lovely people~ I've been pretty held up with MOTN as of recent, so this story hadn't been updated in a while. Sorry bout that. Anywho, to those who are reading this, thank you for reading~  
>-JD<strong>

**Disclaimer: Dun own Bleach**

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><p>Inside of Ichigo's Inner World, Zangetsu and Hichigo stood in alert. They had felt an aura never felt before and were on guard. They had already been antsy because of the change in the sky, but this was different.<p>

"**What the hell is that whelp doing anyway? He's not fighting anyone…he hasn't for the last three fucking years!"**

Zangetsu remained quiet as he began looking to the fake sun in the sky.

"**What the hell are you lookin' at?"**

"The sun. It's disappearing."

"**Ehh?"**

Sure enough, the sun was breaking down and turning into dust. A moon was starting to appear, but instead of it being white, it was blood red. The sky began to turn black and the buildings that they had been standing on started to collapse. Zangetsu and Hichigo jumped off of them quickly, floating in mid air.

"**What the hell's going on?"**

"I don't k-…" Zangetsu stopped halfway, suddenly noticing a change in his voice.

"**Oi, why are you in Tensa Zangetsu form?"**

"I…don't know. It must be Ichigo." he mumbled as he looked at the location of the moon, seemingly sitting above something. Upon looking closer to the ground, he saw some unusual purple reiatsu start to form.

"Follow me." he said as he shunpoed to the area of the questionable reiatsu.

"**Dammit, can't the guy wait a second?"** Hichigo complained as he shunpoed after him.

When he reached where Tensa Zangetsu stood, he was surprised to find that he was standing on grass, something he had been waiting for inside of the Inner World for a long time. He also found himself starting to fuse with the other spirit that lived with him there. Not that they weren't already two parts to a whole, but it still confused him a bit. Once the two formed into one, the newly Fused Tensa Zangetsu looked to the little isle in the middle of the cove that he found. There, he saw a young woman around nineteen years old. She had short orange hair, her bangs laid lazily on her forehead while the rest of her very short hair spiked up in different places. She wore a kimono that started red at the top and ended black on the bottom. She was facing him, but her eyes were closed. Fused Tensa Zangetsu smiled.

"So…you finally found her. The separate reiatsu that you've had since you were born."

The woman's eyes opened halfway, revealing glowing red eyes with constricted black pupils.

"You knew. You knew that I was missing a piece of myself. Why didn't you tell me?"

"She requested that we let you find her yourself."

"That's…understandable. I'm still not too sure exactly what she is…but I've been missing her for a long time. For now, we can just say that she's the missing part of me." she said, no trace of question in her somewhat soft voice.

The spirit laughed a bit.

"Why do you look at me with those hateful eyes? Have I done something wrong?"

"…No. You have not. There are other people who I hate right now."

"Is it the Soul Society?" he asked, interrogating her.

"No. They have not moved to harm my family in any way. My anger is not with them."

"What about what they did to you? They imprisoned you falsely for three years. They kept you from your family. You've missed three of each of their birthdays and three funeral reunions. What about what they took from you? Do you not feel vengeance against them?"

She looked at him, her eyes softening to the point where her pupils weren't so small.

"…Yes. But I refuse to cry over spilt milk. I cannot make up for those three years, but I can protect them as much as I can now. As for the members of Soul Society…"

She looked him straight in the eye as her pupils constricted again.

"I have nothing more to do with them."

Fused Tensa Zangetsu froze for a second, a shiver unintentionally going down his spine. Then he smiled at her.

"You truly are quite the woman."

She gave him a soft smile, tilting her head a bit, before standing up.

"I must go. I know that they haven't sensed my reiatsu yet, but they will the instant I leave. Even if it's for a split second, where my body currently is, it will set them on alarm. I need to move."

With that, her body dissolved into air.

Fused Tensa Zangetsu then split back up until they were just Zangetsu and Hichigo again. When Zangetsu looked at Hichigo's face, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle. His eyes were wide and his mouth was gaping.

"**Whoa…that was…Ichigo?"**

"Yes, it seems so."

"**Well it's about DAMN time! This means we're going back in action!" **he cheered, grinning madly.

Zangetsu himself couldn't help but let out a small grin himself.

…

"**Wait a second…HE was a CHICK?"**

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><p>The rats around the limp form of the former Shinigami froze once they felt the flash of reiatsu form around the body. A glow surrounded Ichigo as his body began to change. The rats jolted and ran to the very corners of the cell. The chains that held the Shinigami to the wall began to rust and rot just from the force of the reiatsu coming from his body as it engulfed him.<p>

Once they dissolved, he curled up into a ball and began to shake. His wounds began to heal and his form began to change. The red of the reiatsu began to combine with the blue coming out of his body, forming a deep violet color. He began to grunt and moan in pain, the tone of his voice getting higher as reiatsu swirled around his body. Curves slowly became predominate and he became smaller in stature.

Suddenly, he let out a loud, dragon-like cry, sending violet reiatsu flying everywhere.

The rats in the room that stared at the reiatsu dissolved into nothing but air, almost as if they had never existed. The other rats curled up together, the outer ones dissolving as well. They waited until all they heard was the low sizzling of rocks that were close to the Shinigami.

When they looked back toward her, they saw her standing, violet reiatsu sifting around her. Her Shinigami clothes were tattered as they had been after the three years she had been down there, bandages covering her chest tightly. The reiatsu faded as her glowing red eyes stared forward, not even acknowledging the existence of the rats that were cowered in the corners of the rocky cell.

She then began making steps forward toward the door of her cell. She softly laid her hand on the door and felt its rocky creases under her fingers. Then, with the flex of her hand, she blew the door straight off.

The people in the cells close by cringed at the sound, startled out of their thoughts. Steps began to resound throughout Maggot's Nest. Those in cells cowered to the corners as the steps got closer.

One man looked up toward the bars, watching as the one whose steps resounded walked by.

Short, orange hair moved slightly with each step, red eyes glowed with hatred, among other emotions, and black cloth floated airily off of the former Shinigami. But the man was confused. First of all, he remembered specifically that the Shinigami that was sealed in the deepest part of Maggot's Nest was Ichigo Kurosaki…a young man. He was staring at a young woman…and…

He felt no reiatsu coming from her.

He was sure that he had felt a humongous burst of it not too long ago. Why did he feel nothing now? He was left to his thoughts as she passed without even giving him a glance.

She traveled through the rocky corridors of the jail, mice and rats scrambling to get out of her way. Despite not feeling any reiatsu from her, they could tell that she was dangerous. With her masterful gait, she continued her way to the surface.

The faces of many other imprisoned Shinigami turned as they saw her come from the distance, her eyes glowing eerily. Some were smart and shifted away from her while others stood and got ready to fight. A particularly big man began running at her, his fist clenched and his mouth open with a yell. She just kept walking forward, raising an open hand.

The instant his fist touched her fingers, a crackling sound erupted from his hand and he was blown into a wall twenty five feet away from him. He cried out in agony, his fist broken into many tiny little pieces. She paid no mind to his pain, walking to the front door of Maggot's Nest. Every other criminal lost their zeal to fight her and ran away from her in fright.

Finally, she paused in front of the door, her eyes narrowed. Ah…they were there outside. She could feel their reiatsus. Closing her eyes, she began to image by reiatsu who was there.

'…Hitsugaya…Renji…Kyoraku…Komamura, Mayuri…Soi-Fong…Oomaeda…Kenpachi and Yachiru are not too far away…I don't feel like fighting them. I don't want to. I guess I'll avoid them for now.'

Her eyes reopened as a strange, thick white liquid began sifting at the bottom of her feet. Then, it extended up and began to engulf her legs all the way up to the middle of her thighs. She then backed up a bit, standing in wait for the door to open.


	5. Escape

**Hello, lovely people. I am SO sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time. Actually, for some reason, ever since we started having projects and such in my classes, I've been exhausted and sleeping more than usual at home. I haven't been able to type much because of that, so I decided to hurry up and type this chapter for Halloween. Please forgive me for my absence.**

**-JD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Obviously. I read the manga, though.**

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><p>Hitsugaya had been to the most recent meeting concerning Ichigo and whether or not he should remain in Maggot's Nest. He shook his head, frustrated with their idiocy. Were some of the captains really so dense as to actually believe that Ichigo would betray them? Betraying them would mean putting his family in danger, and he knew that he wouldn't do something like that, even if he was threatened with death.<p>

He leaned back in his office chair, something he didn't do often, but that day, it seemed to almost call for it. Yes, the evidence looked sketchy, but he still felt like they were missing something. Maybe someone had planned this? It's not like everyone can be absolutely trusted, considering that Aizen is an accurate case of that.

Deciding not to think on that anymore, he got up from his chair and headed to his couch. Since there was really no work that needed to be done, he might as well sleep. Who knows? He may get a little taller. But, just as he had gotten into a comfortable position and began to doze off…

A deafening screech resounded through Soul Society. Following that, a large burst of maddened reiatsu filled the air, going as far as splitting up the clouds in the sky.

His eyes snapped open in shock. Grabbing his zanpakuto, he ran out of his building in a rush. What could that have been? It sounded so much like an angry dragon that he almost thought that his zanpakuto had mysteriously started to act up. But when he deduced where the sound came from, he quickly knew that something was wrong.

Reiatsu shouldn't be able to be used inside of Maggot's Nest.

As he ran down the streets of Soul Society, he was slowly joined up with other captains and their vice captains. For once, it seems, Kenpachi knew exactly where he was going, Yachiru holding on tightly to his shoulder, not bothering to give directions. Soi-Fong and Oomaeda were a few feet ahead of them, Komamura running at a close second to them. Almost all of them had a concerned look on their face, well, except Kenpachi, who seemed to be enjoying himself with a huge, horrid grin on his joyous face.

Once the group made it to Maggot's Nest, they found that Renji, Kyoraku, and Mayuri had already made it there. All of them set up in a position that prevented a straight run and prepared for the worst. Hitsugaya's eyes were still wide with amazement at someone being able to use reiatsu in that horrendous jail cell. How had they found a loophole? Was there a loophole in the first place?

"I don't get it! How can reiatsu be used in there?" Renji exclaimed, his thoughts similar to Hitsugaya's.

Kyoraku shook his head.

"I don't know. It should be impossible."

"Hurry up and open the damn door! He ain't comin' out by himself!" Kenpachi laughed.

Mayuri agreed, his face distorted by a crazed grin.

"Ah, yes. It's of your best interest to open this door. Perhaps I could test on the subject once it has escaped. To use reiatsu in a place where even Shinigami cannot…this will be exciting~" he cackled.

Komamura stared at his fellow Shinigami, then, deciding that what Kenpachi said was true, walked to the door of Maggot's Nest and got ready to open it. Oomaeda shivered in fear as Soi-Fong readied herself, too focused to berate her subordinate for being so fearful. Renji stiffened in anxiety as Kyoraku stood as he always did. Hitsugaya took his stance, ready to battle with whatever came out of the prison. Kenpachi and Mayuri did the same, crazed looks on their faces. Yachiru plainly stared at the door from Kenpachi's shoulder.

Komamura checked to see if the others were ready. When he received the collective nods that he expected, except for Oomaeda, who had been shaking his head, he proceeded to open the door. It creaked as metal rubbed and scrapped against rock. The horrified looks of other prisoners that were closer to the door than their target could be seen as the sunlight slowly crept in. One the door completely opened, they saw a strange figure standing in the darkness, just out of the sun's reach. In their minds, they knew that this was the person that had set off the powerful reiatsu from before.

Red eyes snapped open from inside of the prison.

In a flash, the prisoner shot out from the spot that they had stood at before, zipping past them in jagged lines to still get the straight run that they wanted. As the person passed Hitsugaya, all time seemed to slow down. His eyes moved to his right, wide open in shock. He knew that orange hair anywhere. Black, tattered clothes floated in the wind as medical wraps fluttered around his arms in the wind. He seemed a lot skinnier and… shorter. He gave a quick glance to the other's face. Was it just him or did he mouth 'Follow me'?

Once time regained itself, without a second thought, he followed the former Shinigami. Whether or not the others had seen the familiar mop of hair was beyond him. When he looked back for a second, he noticed that they were all looking around quickly, be it in panic or frustration or some other emotion that they were feeling. No, they hadn't seen him… But how?

Ichigo ran this way and that, making a zigzag pattern that even Hitsugaya was having trouble catching up with. Said captain noticed that the former Shinigami was much further away than he was. When had he gotten so fast? Taking a closer glance at his legs, he noticed something strange and off white covering them. What was that?

Trees became a bit scarcer as they ran to an open field. Trying his best to keep up with Ichigo, he noticed that Ichigo was no longer running, but instead in the sky. He stood there, looking down at him, waiting for him to come up as well. Not wanting him to wait, Hitsugaya jumped up into the air as well, but the instant he got a closer look at Ichigo, he almost had a heart attack.

Ichigo had gotten shorter indeed, by quite a few centimeters at that. At that point, he was shorter than Orihime by about four centimeters. But what really got his attention was Ichigo's face and chest…area. He could've sworn that Ichigo was a boy. But that upper body area currently covered with medical wraps said otherwise. Tearing his eyes away, he looked up to…her face. Her eyes were their usual chestnut brown color, different from the red that they were when the door to Maggot's nest had been opened. Short, messy orange hair sat atop her head as usual. Then, taking notice to the look that he was giving her, she smiled warmly.

"I do look a bit strange, don't I?"

Her voice was so mellow for someone who had just broken out of jail. He stood frozen as she laughed lightly, her hands on her hips.

"I wish you could see the look on your face."

He felt a light blush cover his cheeks in embarrassment.

"What's the…meaning of this? What are you doing?" he asked her cautiously.

Her smile didn't drop, but seemed to turn sad. Her arms dropped to her sides limply.

"It's a lot to explain…" he jolted when she turned her eyes from his face as her pupils constricted and her irises turned red, "But I don't have enough time to explain, unfortunately. They will find this spot soon enough. I'm not sure when they'll get here, but I want to be gone before then."

She looked back at him, her pupils dilating back to their usual size, but her irises never turned back to brown.

"Aizen is getting closer to his goal. If he reaches it, he will hurt my family without a doubt. I cannot sit and wait any longer. I've waited long enough."

Hitsugaya thought deeply. Of course…she had lost hope in them. He couldn't blame her though. The constant meetings shouldn't have taken three years, and even still, they hadn't made a complete decision. Just like her former friends and comrades had lost faith in her, she lost faith in them. The feelings were mutual. He nodded absently.

"I understand."

Suddenly, he felt the sky shake. Looking behind Ichigo, he watched as a straight black line formed in the sky. His eyes broadened. Was that a…Garganta? But the only ones known to be able to use that ability were Mayuri, Urahara, Tousen, Aizen, and…Hollows and Arrancars. He took another glance at Ichigo's legs, remembering the off white substance that he had seen covering them. Some of the black cloth around Ichigo's hips lifted with the wind as he saw fully formed boots that were from the tips of her toes to under her knees. Then from there, the sides of the boots continued up to the middle of her thighs. Was she...an arrancar now?

"No. I'm not an arrancar." She answered, almost as if she read his mind.

The black line had finished extending and was now bending in, almost like a mouth. Hitsugaya looked up at her, astonishment still written on his face.

"Then are you still a Shinigami?"

She shook her head.

The line by then had developed more black lines above and below the main one. The sky had begun to open up as black nothingness was revealed behind it.

"Then…what are you?" Hitsugaya asked warily.

He was surprised when she shrugged, eyes staring at him innocently.

"Honestly, I haven't a clue."

Hitsugaya blinked when she suddenly showed up right in front of him. Had…she just used Sonido? He smiled sadly at him, her eyes half-massed.

"Please excuse my smell. I'd been locked up for three years with rats crawling on me…"

Suddenly, he felt arms around his neck, her hands touching each other at his back. Her head was on his left shoulder as he felt her chest being pushed against his. He didn't even notice the smell that she had, feeling warm in her embrace as he stood there limply. He could hear the sorrowful happiness that she felt when she spoke into his ear.

"Thank you…for believing in me. Please… never stop. Thank you so much…"

He was so tempted to hug back, but he just couldn't get his body to move.

"I'm so sorry…but for now please _sleep_..."

His eyes widened as he felt a small presence of a foreign reiatsu…and tired all of a sudden. His eyes clouded as he fell forward limply into her arms. Even as his vision blurred, he could still see the apologetic look on her face as he felt her loosen her hold on his body and small arms wrap around him from his back. The distance between him and her grew as he felt his body being lowered to the ground. He watched as she walked to the Garganta that was waiting for her. Once he felt the soft blades of grass touch the skin of his face, he absently wondered who was still holding him. He felt the small, childish arms let him loose as the body moved toward his face. He would've widened his eye had he not been so sleepy.

There was a little girl to the side of him. She wore the most beautiful kimono he had ever seen, starting off blood red from the top and ending almost black at the bottom, her obi black with white strawberry blossoms seeming to float on it. She had orange hair that reached her shoulders, the back and top of her hair spiked up like the older female she resembled. On the left side of her head, she had a smaller version Ichigo's hollow mask, the mouth part of it broken off, its eyes closed. She stared at him with a light, airy smile, her irises glowing red.

"Bye bye," the girl said softly as she waved at him.

Then she turned into purple reiatsu and floated up quickly to Ichigo. Said young woman was standing inside of the Garganta as the girl joined the rest of her reiatsu. His eyes blurred too much to tell what she said next, but he watched absently as the Garganta closed and began to disappear. His eyes dulled completely as he drifted off into himself, letting himself succumb to the sleep that his body compelled him to go into.


	6. She's Gone

**HAPPY NEW YEAR~ So this is a new chapter...obviously. I had wanted to update all of my stories by New Years, but that didn't happen...**

**Anyway, this is one that I did manage to get here on time! YAY!**

**DISCLAIMER:...well duh**

**-JD**

* * *

><p>Soul Society was in top alarm. There had just been a prison break…in the Maggot's Nest? That was unheard of! All around, Shinigami were rushing left and right, preparing for a battle with the escaped prisoner. Meanwhile, inside of one of the resting areas, Orihime, Chad, Uryuu, and Matsumoto had been trying to relax, only for it to be interrupted by the burst of reiatsu. Chad and Uryuu were already on their feet as Orihime clutched to Matsumoto.<p>

"What…what was that?" Orihime asked, shivering in fear.

The reiatsu had been so hateful…and so sad. Whose was it? She'd never felt one like that before.

"I don't know, but it can't be good. Whoever released that was mad." Matsumoto answered, standing to her feet as well.

She turned around to Orihime, who was still sitting and put out a hand for her.

"Come on, we have work to do."

Uryuu and Chad were already at the door. Just as they were about to open it, Kira burst in the room, panicked and panting. All went over to him as he attempted to catch his breath, said man bent over and breathing the best he could.

"Pris…escape…hurry…ran…"

"Whoa, whoa. Easy there! Breathe!" Uryuu coaxed him.

Kira moved to stand stiffly, taking in as much breath as he could. He let it out in a huff and continued to do so at least seven times. Once he had calmed down a bit and the others were certain that he wouldn't asphyxiate himself, Orihime spoke to him.

"What happened? What's going on?"

Kira gave her a short glance before closing his eyes and taking in another heavy breath. Then, all ready to get it out, he yelled.

"A prisoner escaped from Maggot's Nest! Hitsugaya went after the guy, but he hasn't been seen since!"

Matsumoto let out a panicked cry. Not saying another word to the others, she ran out of the room at top speed, heading for the esteemed prison. Chad and Uryuu glanced at each other before following her, not going nearly as fast as she was. They couldn't even if they tried. Orihime was about to follow, but was stopped by Kira. Turning around to ask Kira why he was holding her arm, he began speaking first.

"I didn't get to say it…because they rushed out already…but the prisoners were terrified…I don't know who it was…but we should be careful…if he's still around…"

Orihime patted his shoulder as he dropped into a chair. While his breathing had calmed, he was still quite out of breath.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. Don't worry, Kira. We'll find the prisoner and Hitsugaya soon!"

Then she rushed out of the room, heading for Maggot's Nest as well. Kira sat there in his chair, leaning back with his left arm over his eyes.

* * *

><p>"Captain Hitsugaya! Where are you? Captain Hitsugaya!" Oomaeda called as the Shinigami shunpoed around, searching for even the smallest bit of reiatsu from either him or the escaped prisoner.<p>

Unohana hadn't taken too long to join them when she heard about the escape. She was searching to the west with Kyoraku, Kenpachi and Yachiru, Mayuri and Komamura were searching to the east, with Soi-Fong, Renji, and Oomaeda heading north. The south was unnecessary due to the fact that Maggot's Nest was back in the south. The Detention Unit was currently on top guard of the prison.

The sounds of Hitsugaya's name being called did not reassure Matsumoto as she made it to the front of Maggot's Nest. Uryuu and Chad weren't far behind, though were slightly panting. The almost jumped when they saw Matsumoto grab one of the guards by the collar of their shirt and pulled the man to her face.

"Where is he? Where's Hitsugaya?" she raged, shaking the poor man back and forth.

"Uhh, I don't know! Please stop shaking me, Lieutenant Matsumoto!"

"That's not a good enough answer! Where is he?"

"Uhh…Matsumoto…" Uryuu tried to say.

The glare that she sent him shut him up.

"I said I don't know! They're searching for him now!" screeched the guard.

She pulled him face-to-face with her as he sweated profusely, scared of the raging woman.

"Where…is…my…captain…" she growled.

The poor man almost fainted.

"He's…somewhere…out there…" he whimpered, pointing a weak finger out to the forest and fields that were away from them.

She let go of the man's shirt, and patted her hair down. After calming herself down, she opened her eyes to the man who was still shivering.

"That was all you had to say. Thank you."

Then she jetted off to the north. Uryuu apologized to the man trying to help him catch his breath while Chad patting the man on the shoulder in reassurance before leaving as well. The other guard beside the abused one began to chuckle. Once the man had calmed down, he looked up to Uryuu.

"The prisoners were terrified of whoever got out. Can you believe that one said that she broke Tamaguho's fist by just flicking him?"

Uryuu's brain kind of slowed, processing the information. The escaped prisoner…was a woman? When he turned to tell the others, he found that they had already left.

* * *

><p>Further ahead, Matsumoto had made it to a straight pathway with trees on each side, Chad continuing to follow as quickly as possible, which was quite slow. Much too focused on finding her captain, she didn't care that he was lagging. While it didn't seem like it sometimes, after Gin left with Aizen, she sort of clung to Hitsugaya. He was a source of strength for her, just as Gin had. For him to be gone, it chilled her to the bone. What if that prisoner killed him? The guy had broken out of Maggot's Nest of all things…MAGGOT'S NEST! It was supposed to be the strongest prison in Soul Society and this guy broke out of it…using REIATSU nonetheless! Reiatsu was forbidden in there. Not even the captains could use reiatsu in there! Whoever broke out…could most likely easily kill any of them.<p>

"Matsu-san~"

Matsumoto suddenly made a stop, causing Chad to fall over with a failed halt. As he coughed with the dust, they glanced up to the woman to see what she had stopped for, and then glanced to the voice. Looking to the left, they saw Yachiru waving her hands wildly in the air, attempting to get her attention.

"We found Hitsu-kun~"

Eyes wide in shock, it didn't take her long to get close to Yachiru.

Chad stood to his feet tiredly and decided to continue following the worried woman. She would probably need his help with something. Even if no help from him was needed at all, he would be there for her anyway. Who knew what Hitsugaya's condition was?

"This way, you two~" Yachiru called, running up ahead to a clearing.

As the trees gave way to the light of the sun and fields, they saw up ahead Unohana kneeled beside Hitsugaya, who appeared to be knocked out. Kyoraku and Kenpachi were close by, one with a slightly worried face, the other scratching his head, walking away from the scene. Just as Kenpachi walked past them, Yachiru suddenly stopped running and clung to the man's back. Matsumoto ignored this and continued forward, Chad having stopped and begun walking.

"Captain Hitsugaya! Are you okay?" she yelled, approaching the group, slowing herself to a stop near him.

"He's quite fine. Actually, it's like he was never touched," Unohana answered, confusion underlying in her voice as she inspected him, the grass closest to his body freezing to ice.

Matsumoto stared at her in alarm, "What? What do you mean it's like he's not even touched?"

"I meant exactly what I said. It's like he was never touched. I've looked for a trace of reiatsu to point me to a culprit, but there was none. Not only that, if he had fell or something of the sort after an attack, the attacker took care to lay him gently on the ground. I don't think he was harmed in any serious way. It just seems that he's in a trance of some sort. But I've never seen anything like it. It's like he's asleep."

Matsumoto sighed in relief. But her sigh stuttered slightly. Who…who would do something like this? Whoever escaped only wanted to do just that: escape. They wanted no trouble with anyone near them or anyone after them. The just simply wanted to be left alone.

"Could it…could it have been…Ichigo?"

Unohara stared up at her, Chad's eyes widening. That…was actually a huge possibility. Not wanting to hurt Hitsugaya, he simply did something to put him to sleep.

But for him to do that…would mean that the burst of reiatsu from before was his as well.

That hateful, sad reiatsu that had defied all logic of Maggot's Nest…was Ichigo's? Had he really felt that much vengeance? But if he had, then why was Hitsugaya unharmed? Why did he leave? What was he doing?

A groan from below her brought her out of her reverie. She dropped quickly on her knees and began shaking Hitsugaya's shoulders to wake him up. He would have some answers, surely he would.

"Captain Hitsugaya! Wake up! Please, you need to wake up!"

"Shush…I was sleeping," he groaned, sitting up and holding his head in a cold hand.

"Hitsugaya…" she sighed in relief, noticing that his attitude hadn't changed at all.

He blinked blearily, getting the sleep out of his eyes as he rubbed his face and yawned a bit. He looked to his left and right, trying to find out where he was. Finally, registering Unohana's presence, he nodded to her. She nodded back politely, a bit of concern in her features.

"Does your body register that you have an injury?" she asked lightly, her eyes searching yet finding none.

He seemed to think for a second before frowning, "No, other than a slight ringing in my ear, but I think that was Matsumoto."

Matsumoto puffed her cheeks out a bit in a pout.

"No soreness or aching anywhere but your ears?"

"…Yes. That's all I feel. Other than that, I feel slightly more energetic than usual."

"Of course, but that's most likely because of the sleep. Did you see who did that to you, by the way?"

Chad and Matsumoto had been watching as they talked on, their breaths pausing when Unohana popped the question.

"Yeah," he began, standing to his feet before holding out a hand to Unohana, "It was Kurosaki, if that's what you're wondering."

Unohana took the hand, but her eyes widened just a millimeter when he heard him admit it. Chad's eyes had become like saucers, Matsumoto's not far away from that size. Unohana paused in her slightly crouched position before sighing and standing up completely.

"…Did he say anything to you?"

"…"

For some reason, he didn't seem willing to talk about that. He looked to the ground with an uncharacteristically sad look on his face. The other three's eyes seemed to sadden as well. Had he berated him? What had he said?

"This is basically what he said: Thank you for believing in me, but this has taken too long. Aizen in moving and I am not. I'm sorry, but I have to get moving. Thank you for believing in me all this time."

Matsumoto's hand went up to her mouth, trying not to sob. He hadn't said anything mean at all. How could he be so compassionate? Chad stared at the ground, knowing that he had doubted his friend as well as some of the others. The trials really were taking too long, and had they believed him, he wouldn't have had to do something so drastic. His shoulders dropped, believing that he didn't deserve to be called his friend at all. Unohana looked a bit glum as well, her shoulders relaxing a bit. Of course, she had known that he was innocent, but those close-minded old Shinigami…

"How he know you trusted him?"

"I'm guessing he could tell since I didn't try to attack him at first glance. That and…he seemed to think that I trusted him from when he first ran out from Maggot's Nest, telling me to follow him and what not. Maybe…he could just tell."

"Honestly, I wouldn't doubt that. But that reiatsu…that's what concerns me the most…" Unohana replied.

"Was there anything different about him?" Matsumoto asked, curiosity underlying in her voice.

Hitsugaya flinched. Her curiosity having also been acquired from his reaction, Unohana asked him the same question as well. He just stared up at the sky for a moment, seeming to think.

"How do I say this…" he thought aloud, putting his right hand on his chin where his thumb was on one side, his pointer finger on the other, with his left hand holding his right elbow.

"What do you me-" the blonde woman nearly inquired.

"He looks a lot more like you, Matsumoto," he replied simply, having stopped thinking and was then staring at her.

"…Eh?"


	7. Land of the Arrancar

**Hey, I did a little editing of this chapter. I hope to update it soon!**

**LOL why is it when summer starts that I get sick? ( =.=)  
>- JD<strong>

**DISCLAIMER: (っ◕‿◕)っ No shit, Sherlock.**

* * *

><p>There a groan erupted from the sky as it forced itself to open. The black sky of Hueco Mundo welcomed the Garganta unwillingly. Out of the cut in dimension, a single being jumped out of it, landing on the sandy ground with the expertise of a cat. Her orange hair stood out in the monotonous land she was currently in, her red eyes adding even more of a strange air to her. She waited there, not moving an inch until the Garganta was closed.<p>

Ichigo yawned tiredly. It had been a long time since she had stretched her legs…a very long time indeed. Yet, giving glances here and there, there didn't seem to be much of a difference to Hueco Mundo. Luckily, that could probably help her get around.

"Well, this was the first place I could think to escape to so…" she said aloud, scratching the back of her head.

Her eyes widened slightly, feeling something in her hand. When she brought her hand in front of her face, she could distinctly see clumps of dander sticking to her fingernails.

Her pupils turned to pinpoint as her left eye twitched.

It may have been because she was now a girl, but somehow…seeing all that dander stuck to her hand made her want to gag. Shaking her hand quickly, she flung the dead head cells from her fingers as she began trying to think of the closest place to bathe.

Ah.

Well, Las Noches most likely had a shower of some sort there. Why not take a peek?

* * *

><p>He was bored. Not like your usual type of bored, but he was so bored…bored couldn't even describe how BORED he was. Grimmjow growled as he rolled over on his bed, looking up to the ceiling, putting his hands behind his head.<p>

It had been three years. Three years since the last time he had seen Ichigo's face and fought wholeheartedly with him. Then those bastards from Soul Society put him in fuckin' Maggot's Nest. Why they did it, he didn't know, but those bitches were making him bored. How dare those damn fuckers take away everything fun to him? Hell, even he himself, with all his power, didn't think that he could escape Maggot's Nest. What the hell had he done to get stuck in there?

Argh, those damn idiots were messing with his head now. He honestly didn't understand what he had done to get in there. Last thing he remembered the orange-haired shinigami doing was…well, fighting with him. It's not like he was betraying them by fighting him or anything, yet somehow he got labeled a traitor.

Those shinigami were so high with their power, always looking up with their noses turned to the air, they couldn't see what was right in front of them.

He honestly wouldn't have minded so much if it had been someone like Orihime. That bitch was practically useless, except for that mysterious healing power of hers. Or maybe that other really buff guy. What was his name again? Ah, shit. It didn't really matter.

He sat up on his bed, groaning as he stretched his body, feeling slightly stiff. Ah, he really needed to move around. He couldn't stand that rigidness in his muscles and spine. It felt so…unnatural. He stood to his feet and headed to the door, hoping with all his heart that he'd push someone's button hard enough to pick a good, long fight with them. With a grin widening on his face, he opened his door, staring out into the white hallway.

_Sskkshhhhhh_

Eh?

He was swiftly knocked out of his thoughts as his shower turned on. Turning around slowly, he stared at the door in the very back of his room that led to his bathroom. Why the hell would it be turning on right then? He wasn't going to take a shower, and he wasn't in the bathroom either. Then…someone had snuck in? Who the hell had the ability to do that?

He carefully closed his door, walking carefully, as if stalking prey, to the door of his bathroom. Pressing his ear on the door, he listened for any sound in particular. After a few moments of listening to the water from his shower fall uselessly, he suddenly heard it muffle, as if it were hitting something.

In particular, skin. He burst the door open, eye wide and angry.

"Who the fuck is usin' my bathroom?"

Ah. There was no one there.

He blinked, confused and angry all at the same time. He was sure that he had heard someone bathing in his shower, but while the water ran, there was no one there. He searched the bathroom carefully, feeling the area for any left over reiatsu of some kind. Yet…there was none. The room was completely clean except for the slight water puddle sitting just outside of his shower…and the slight lingering smell like something had died.

He growled, turning off the shower, before leaving the bathroom and heading to the door again. But just as he was about to head to the hallway, anger raging inside and ready for a fight…

_Creak…Sskksshhhhhh_

The bathroom door had shut, and the shower had started up again.

He felt his anger grow considerably. He had just turned the fuckin' shower off and got rid of whoever was invading his personal space, but somehow…they just didn't get the picture! What the fuck was wrong with whoever this was?

Nearly ready to roar or something of the like, he stomped back to the bathroom, bursting the door open to the point where it nearly came off of its hinges. Once again, it was the same thing. There was no one there, the shower was still running…and was it just him or was the smell of something dead even stronger? Whoever it was really did need a fuckin' bath…just not in his bathroom.

He turned the shower off again, pausing to stare as some dirt-filled water slinked almost eerily down his drain, before checking the room once more for reiatsu and a bigger sign that someone was there other than the small puddle sitting outside of the shower. Yet again. Nothing.

His frustration had reached a higher point than he had already wanted it too, so he made sure this time that whoever the dipshit was that was sneakin' into other people's bathin' areas got the point.

"Listen, whoever the fuck you are," he growled, his fists clenching as he let his reiatsu fill his living space, "This place is MINE. You don't got no FUCKN' right usin' other people's shit, so back the fuck off. GOT IT?"

He stomped out of his restroom once more.

He didn't even get five inches away before the door slammed behind him, hearing the familiar clink of someone locking the door.

He also could've sworn he heard something growl as if irritated. The shower turned right back on and muffled almost immediately. He felt like releasing his hold on himself.

He did a quick 180, his face red with anger. He burst the bathroom door off of its hinges, not caring that he'd be reprimanded for it later. With an extremely furious roar, he grasped the side of the shower with his left hand quickly as he steadied himself from running in and almost slipping, ready to kill whatever was still in the shower.

Just as he opened the shower curtain, he barely registered whoever it was groan irritatedly and just briefly saw something orange and the sole of someone's foot before he was kicked through the wall and falling from Las Noches.

He had to blink a few times and register that he was, in fact, feeling air rush past himself. When he finally realized that he was falling, he maneuvered himself to the wall and caught his hand on it. The hard brick flew off of the building in a flurry as he slid to a halt. Sure, he could've just stopped himself in midair, but he decided to take some of his anger out on the wall.

Who had that been? Why were they there? If that had been some cocky underling arrancar, he was gonna kick their ass so hard that they-…oh yeah. He'd just gotten kicked out of his own fuckin bathroom by them…literally. He touched his face with his left hand, realizing that he still felt the pressure from the kick on his face. Pulling his hand away, his eyes widened at the sight of blood on it. He was bleeding from just a kick? Not to mention the reiatsu that was now seeping slightly from the room… He stared back up at the hole that had been his bathroom wall, growling.

"FINE THEN! Since you wanna use my bathroom so damn much, USE IT! But you sure as hell bettr' be gone when I get back!" he screeched, dropping from hanging on the wall to the ground.

He huffed, putting his hands in his pockets and walking away. He was sure that he'd be able to find some innocent arrancars that would be begging to die. Crushing their skulls would definitely relieve some of his stress.

Besides, then he wouldn't have to admit that he felt a little fear from the reiatsu.

* * *

><p>"Ahhhh…I feel so good…" Ichigo sighed, scratching through her now clean hair.<p>

Her clothes were drying on the pole that held up the shower curtain as she allowed herself to air-dry. Her skin no longer had a grey tone to it from grime, and was now a soft, creamy color, her skin having lightened from lack of sun. Her now orange, not brownish, hair was almost glowing from the bath and her bangs stuck around her head slightly from being damp. Her eyes, though, had not regained the glow they had to them…it would take a while before that returned.

Ichigo stared at herself in the mirror, a white towel wrapped around her bust, covering her from the top to a little above the middle of her thighs. She blinked blankly at her body staring forward. She turned left…then right. Rotating her neck, she cracked it slightly, her eyes never leaving the mirror she was in front of.

She…was hot.

Sure, she was on the short side-even shorter than Orihime, she guessed-but had she still had the mindset of a male, she'd think that she was hot. Even now, she considered herself on the sexy side. But…she was pretty sure that's only because her middle was covered. Under that towel, she didn't have soft-looking, plump skin on her stomach, nor did she have softly defined muscles. While the muscles were there, you could easily see her ribs through her skin. Right under her ribs, her skin dipped slightly before running into muscles on her stomach. Why couldn't her fat have distributed itself properly?

The only place that seemed plump about her was her chest.

For crying out loud, it was heavy. Not to mention that she was braless, her only upholding being medical wraps, but even with that…she had to be at least a little bigger than Orihime when it came to her chest.

Curious as to the concept of receiving her new…endowments, she put a hand on each one of her breasts and squeezed slightly. She frowned. They were useless, of course. They could do nothing more than arouse me-…people, break her fall if she fell forward, suffocate her when she tries to sleep (as she knows from what she's heard from Matsumoto…unwillingly), feed children if she had any, which she doubted, and be an added weight. She huffed, pushing her breasts up as she began searching through Grimmjow's cabinet from medical wraps. She doubted he had any, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

Getting rid of Grimmjow had been trouble. He just didn't know when to go away. Was it really all that hard to let her use his bathroom? No, it wasn't. He just wanted to be complicated. Yes, he wanted to be an ass to someone that day, and had chosen her unintentionally. When she had given him the swift kick to the face, satisfaction had seeped through her skin and traveled out her pores. Even her reiatsu had reacted to her pride, floating lazily out of the hole in the wall she made with his body.

Ah, that brought up another issue…reiatsu control. She hadn't been the best at it when she was male and didn't have Chihime's powers, but now that she had a whole different kind of reiatsu from shinigami or arrancars, if her reiatsu was to be sensed, whoever sensed it would know that the owner of the reiatsu wasn't normal…well, unless they were completely dense. Either way, she now had a larger amount of reiatsu that she needed to have under control as well, and considering that her reiatsu was a reflector of her mood, she knew that it would take lots of practice to control her impulses and even if she didn't, she'd have to keep her reiatsu in check.

Ah, Grimmjow did have medical wraps. Awesome.


	8. ネルの苦しみ

**LOL I think this is the longest chapter yet. *squeeeeaaa-achooo!* ( *3*)';**

**I really should be sleeping. I really should. But I can't. Too stuffy to sleep. (*o*)  
><strong>**Anywhozel, I decided to spend my non-sleeping hours making over half of this chapter. It turned out to be, like, barely 10 pages, bros! (*u*)**

****I'm So MoThErFuCkInG pRoUd Of mYsElF, yA kNoW? :0)  
><strong>**(if you understand this reference, you're soooooo awesome)****

**If you see any errors, let me know so I can correct them.  
><strong>**Help me improve so that I can write better for y'all.  
><strong>**I'm fully open for receiving CONSTRUCTIVE criticizm.**

**Don't give me any of that flamey bullshit.  
><strong>**Here's what I do with your flamey bullshit =** **(っ◕‿◕)っ彡┻━┻  
><strong>_(pssst...your flamey bullshit is the table)_

**So, yeah. Here's my update. After, like, 4 MONTHS. But I do have to warn you:**

**I get really gorey when I get sick. (*_* )  
>My chest started hurting from typing this.<strong>

**Thank ShinigamiXZEROX for uploading, like, a whole shitload of Bleach OST on Youtube [for me] to listen to and inspire me along the way of writing this. (-v- )**

**And just so y'all know: I love you guys. I really do. Thank you for reading this. *hugs***

**Anywhozelz, it's 5:10 a.m. now.  
>Until next ti-achooooo! DAMMIT. That one fuckin HURT. ("*_*)<br>****-JD**

**DISCLAIMER: I own Ichigo's breasts. She's just like Litchi: A "booby lady". TEEHE-severely bankai'd-**

* * *

><p><em>Neru no Kurushimi<em>

Nel's Agony

* * *

><p>Ichigo yawned. She was laid out on top of one of the white pillars in Hueco Mundo relaxing, almost as if she were sunbathing. Her arms were stretched out above her head as her stomach faced the sky. Red eyes stared up at the forever crescent moon of inside of the world of arrancars. Her limbs stretched briefly before she rolled over.<p>

She was bored.

She hadn't had such a feeling for a while since not too long ago she had been brooding over her family and her imprisonment. She was still thinking about all of that, but now she didn't have to focus on just staying alive as much. She could survive for a while as she was; the outdoors was a lot better than the prison. She yawned, tears welling at the corners of her eyes as she began nodding off yet again.

Then right below her, she heard growling. She blinked blearily, her interest piqued a bit as she crawled over to the edge of the pillar and looked down.

There, at the base of it was an arrancar. It wasn't as high up as the espada, as its mask still covered its face completely. It was growling and pacing, seeming to have noticed the fact that there was some sort of reiatsu at the top of the column. It was shaped just like a bipedal bull, its face covered with the mask akin to a dead bull, its body covered with twisting, white armor. It had bull-like legs and hooves for feet even though its upper body was akin to that of a human. It reminded her very much of a centaur.

It snorted as it lumbered around. Occasionally, it would kick the pillar, demanding that she come down and fight. Drool dripped from the arrancar's mouth.

"_**Grrrrrrrhhhh"**_

'Aah,' she thought, her eyes narrowing.

'A weakling.'

She turned back to the middle of the column, getting ready to get back to sunbathing.

"_**Grrrraaaahhhhrrrrrrrr…"**_

Her eyes snapped back open, pupils pinpoint in irritation. The number of reiatsu that she felt surrounding her vacation spot increased. Slowly but surely, the number increased more and more. Finally, after getting tired of whatever it was being around her peaceful place, she looked back over the edge of the pillar.

She lost the feeling of sleep.

A whole crowd had gathered. Many different kinds of arrancar had decided to pay her a visit. Snakes, spiders, cats, caterpillars. You named them, they were there, growling and pacing. Some were even attacking each other out of hunger. But with every single one of them, one thing remained true:

All of them were waiting for her. They were trying to taunt her.

'Ah.'

Her reiatsu, though it was kept at the top of the pillar, still attracted arrancars to her. They thought that just because her reiatsu was all the way up there where she was that she was weak and easy to kill off. They thought that she was hiding. All of them were just there because they wanted to improve their powers and become an espada.

She stood to her feet, cracking her bones as she did so. As she cracked her neck, standing up straight, a grin spread out across her face. She'd been looking for something to take her anger out on.

"Looks like I won't be bored for too much longer."

Just as she said that, she watched as the bull seemed to say something before a hoard of them began flying and jumping up the pillar to meet her.

* * *

><p>Ulquiorra paused as he walked through Las Noches, feeling bored to death. He felt something. There was some sort of…stuffy feeling that had started in his stomach. It wasn't quite like butterflies.<p>

It was more like…cotton.

Yes, a cottony feeling had started in his stomach, and it was slowly building up his spine.

Earlier yesterday, it was just in his lower stomach, so he thought that maybe he was hungry or something, yet now, that very day, the feeling was in the direct middle of his stomach.

Or was it more like the middle of his soul? Either way, the feeling was slowly growing.

He sighed, something uncharacteristic of himself. He usually got that strange, cottony feeling whenever something was going to happen.

He turned to look outside of a window he was passing by and looked out at Hueco Mundo's bleak existence. His eyes widened just slightly at what he saw.

There was a pillar out there, pretty far away, but due to its size, looked closer than it actually was. It wasn't particularly special, just sitting there. Being a mass of stone.

Yeah. Cause that's what pillars do.

It was what was happening at the top of the pillar that caught his attention.

The very air of Hueco Mundo was being distorted. The clouds around the pillar swirled and churned until they became wisps of white painting the sky. He also couldn't help but notice that the top of the pillar was changing colors, the original white of the column beginning to slowly drip black.

Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed. How had he not noticed that one of the arrancar had improved? Why hadn't they shown up at Las Noches? It was an espada…right? Or was it still arrancar?

He jumped out of the window and started heading there.

For once, since the shinigami left Las Noches three years ago, something interesting was at hand.

* * *

><p>The past three years had been ones of both stress and peace for Neliel, the former being exceedingly more than the latter. The miniscule iota of peace that she felt came from living day by day. The stress came mostly from not knowing where her 'Itsugo' had gone. One time she sees him, he's fighting valiantly against arrancar and espada alike, as he always had. The next…well…so far there hadn't been a next.<p>

When she heard that he'd been put into Maggot's Nest, she was devastated. She cried for days, yelling at Dondochakka and Pesche that only bad people were put there, from what she heard. Why would Ichigo be put into such a place? He's not bad at all!

Dondochakka and Pesche had tried their best to salve her sorrow, yet nothing had succeeded. The seemingly young former-espada had still cried and fussed. It pained them to see her like that, but they also felt bad for Ichigo. Having heard stories about Maggot's Nest from legend, they worried immensely about him, especially since he was put in the lowest of the low part of the prison.

Nel had, a few times, even planned a way to break the orange haired teen out of the prison herself! Even though she planned, she didn't know where the prison was or what kind of defense was there, so with her guardians constantly reminding her of that, she never made a move forward. All she could do was try to continue living on and hope that the Captains came to their senses.

Well, that hadn't happened.

And now, she was lonely.

It had happened in a flash. None of the group had expected to be attacked by a whole hoard of arrancar.

* * *

><p>"<em>Wh-what are all these doing here?" Dondochakka muttered, eyes bulging as he watched the group taunt them, saliva dripping from their mouths.<em>

_Pesche didn't respond, his body hiding Nel's, who was wide-eyed at the surges of reiatsu coming from them. Especially the bull-like one._

_They all presumed that he was the leader of the group, his stature bigger than all the rest. Some of his group even appeared to have been chewed on, most likely by him. What kind of leader would eat on his own teammates?_

_No. They most likely just worked with him to not be against him. They needed an ally, why not ally with someone who can 'protect' you, even if this 'protection' came at the possible cost of becoming his chew toy and losing your ability to grow?_

_Forty-nine different arrancar had this same mindset._

"_**Hoooi. Your group looks pretty small. We're trying to get bigger. Better. You don't mind if we eat y'all, do yah?"**_

_The group howled in laughter. Of course they minded. Not that their leader cared. Dondochakka and Pesche glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes._

_They had to protect Nel._

"_**Well, even if you do care, I don't. I'm going to become an espada, so I'll go ahead and eat all of ya," **__the bull arrancar growled, his hoofed left foot sliding across the ground, readying himself to charge. _

_The others following him growled and groaned readying their attacks as well. Wings flapped, claws extended and sharpened, tails whipped in the air, and eyes glowed._

"_Nel," she heard Pesche whisper, "Remember how you would hide when we play 'Eternal Pursuit'?"_

_The young girl looked up at him and nodded, her fists tightening on his leg._

_He tilted his head to the side just slightly to the right._

"_Let's play, Neliel. Only…this time…Dondochakka and I aren't the ones chasing you. Hide well. If found, do what you always do."_

"_Run?" she asked, already knowing the answer._

"_For your life."_

_Dondochakka immediately began letting Bawabawa out. Pesche readied his 'Infinite Slick', pushing Nel behind himself more to keep her as hidden from view as possible._

_They heard an arrancar screech._

_Nel's sight exploded into white as an arrancar attacked. She dove to the ground, covering her head as she panicked. She could hear Pesche let out some of his 'Infinite Slick' as Bawabawa roared._

_She began searching for a hiding spot as she always did at the start of a game. She crawled along the ground as she heard Dondochakka's bugs begin to tear apart some of the arrancar and vise versa. Even so, she didn't stop. If she stopped, it could mean getting tagged._

_She knew very well that getting tagged in this particular game wouldn't be good._

_From crawling along the ground she ended up encountering a pillar. The stone rose high into the sky, just like the skyscrapers that Ichigo would tell her about. She quickly crept closer to the bottom of it. If the sand there was soft enough, she could burrow into the sand._

'Holes are some of the best hiding spots! Bugs do it, too!_' Dondochakka had said once._

_SCCCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE-_

_A particularly large bug was sliced into two._

_Ah, good. The sand was soft enough. She began digging._

_Due to all the focus being on the fight against the surprisingly strong defenders, Neliel was completely out of the picture. By the time she had finished digging a hole in the sand the size of her body, some of the arrancar had died or were using their ultimate attacks. By the time she had dug a big enough hole for four of her, Bawabawa reached his end, crying out as its mask was destroyed and his body was eaten alive. By the time she had made an escape route, Dondochakka and Pesche were at the last of their wits._

_Nel turned around in her hole, facing the opening of it, tears from stress and fear rolling down her face, hands dirty and bleeding slightly. She peeked nervously out of hole._

_Her eyes widened._

_The land was a blood bath. It seemed that there were dead arrancar lying around everywhere, Dondochakka and Pesche nearly in the middle of it all. They were panting from fatigue, obviously exhausted._

_Then she noticed something particularly important._

_The bull from before hadn't even moved from his position._

_The other two didn't notice and they didn't seem to care. Pesche was positioned on top of Dondochakka, preparing to fire off their '__Cero Sincrético', focusing the last of their energy into this one last attack._

_There were a few arrancar left. They didn't have a place to run. That door closed a long time ago._

_This was their only shot at getting out of it alive._

_Panting and bleeding, Dondochakka and Pesche stood in position. Yellow and purple reiatsu began mixing together in a swirl of energy, glowing._

"_This…this is our best attack," Pesche huffed._

"_It will never fail…no matter what…" Dondochakka finished._

_The twelve remaining arrancar began getting nervous, chittering and chattering as they backed away from the two. _

_All except the bull._

_The ball of reiatsu finally reached its full potential, glowing like electricity. It swirled around faster, getting ready to be fired._

"_CERO SINCRÉTICO!" they cried out together._

_It was shot._

_Sand unearthed and flew about as it charged at the group._

_The bull's eyes narrowed._

_Closer._

_The bull's feet shifted._

_Closer._

_Dondochakka and Pesche began to smile, hope glittering in their eyes._

_Closer…_

_Three of the arrancar ran away._

_Closer…_

_The bull smirked._

_CLOSER._

_Nel held her breath._

_CLOSER._

_The bull charged._

_THERE._

_The left horn touched a particular spot in the middle of the cero._

_Nel's heart stopped._

_The bull found the fissure._

_She watched, devastated, as the cero split into two, bypassing the bull completely. The two separate ceros exploded in contact with the three arrancar that attempted to run away._

_But the bull didn't stop there._

_It continued charging._

_Charging._

_Charging…_

_Until the two horns stabbed Dondochakka, said arrancar spitting out blood at the rough impact. He was hit so hard, Pesche lost his footing and fell from his comrade's back._

"_DONDOCHAKKA!" he yelled, grunting when he hit the ground._

_He was too weak to get back up._

_The bull rose his head, carrying Dondochakka with his horns. The other two members of the group were forced to watch as their comrade was skewered._

_The bull shook his head around causing Dondochakka to bleed everywhere as chunks of his insides flew around as well. He cried out in pure agony, his voice slowly becoming hoarse. When he finally dropped the arrancar, he was thoroughly mangled. The arrancar twitched, not even able to use his voice any longer._

_Then the bull turned his eyes to Pesche…and grinned._

"_**The big one's all for y'all…that is until I finish with the appetizer."**_

_Pesche immediately knew what the bull meant._

_Before he could even think to try and crawl away, the bull smashed his hoofed, left leg onto Pesche's right. He screeched in pain as the bone immediately cracked and broke on impact. _

_Nel couldn't close her eyes. She couldn't scream. She couldn't cry. She couldn't._

_Doing so would mean being found out._

_Doing so would mean that all that her comrades did for her would be in vain._

_The bull repeated his action on the other leg, effectively destroying any miniscule chance Pesche had of escaping. Pesche gritted his teeth this time, not wanting to cry out again._

_The bull's saliva dripped onto his stomach, eyes and mouth leering._

"_**Hehe…Itadakimasu…"**__ the bull sang._

_Pesche threw his head back, __**screaming**__. _

_He shook his head so hard, his mask fell off._

_His last remaining eye gazed almost sightlessly to where Neliel was, pupil dilated to pinpoint in pain as blood dripped like tears from it. He could hear gushing and crunching, his own body being chewed on and ripped apart. When he could voice his pain loudly no more, his mouth remained open in a silent scream._

_Neliel's mouth opened to scream, but it never came out._

_Shivers racked his body, shock running through his nerves. His eyesight was fading out. His torture was nearly over. _

_He locked eyes with his 'sister'._

_At the sight of how shocked he was, his eye slowly dilated out, remembering his leader._

_Remembering the emotions he felt through all that they had gotten through._

_Remembering how his heart beat when they all their fun times together._

_Remembering the pride he felt when he heard that Nel had temporarily regained her past body to help Ichigo._

_Remembering her facial expressions._

_But most of all…_

_Remembering her smile._

'…_Heh…I gu-guess…I won't be…seeeee…seeing it…again…an-any…time…soon…'_

_Nel's big eyes watered uncontrollably. Pesche was smiling. He began to mouth things to her._

"_Do…don't cry…"_

_She was tempted to reach her hand out, but was too frozen to do so. She didn't notice how the bull had stopped chewing at Pesche's abdomen._

"…_Live…Neliel…"_

_She couldn't advert her eyes fast enough to avoid seeing the bull crush his head in between his jaws._

* * *

><p>Neliel jolted awake, gasping for air. Tears wet the sand below her. As she registered the fact that it had all been a dream, more tears began pouring from her eyes, having remembered what happened a year-and-a-half ago.<p>

Ever since then, Neliel adopted the practice of five essential things for her survival:

One, always have a hole to stay in. Digging into the sand under a pillar and burrowing there is one of the safest places to hide and rest. Stay in them as long as possible.

Two, treat every day like 'Eternal Pursuit'. Never, **EVER **get "tagged".

Three, when there's a time that she absolutely had to leave a hiding spot, move slowly or quickly, depending on the situation. If there are none or few arrancar around, move quickly. If many, move slowly and close to the ground as to not attract too much attention.

Four, if there is another arrancar in the vicinity, hide. If there is no hiding spot available, play dead and pray to whatever gods that exist that she wasn't found.

Five, the most important one of all…

**NEVER CRY ALOUD.**

Crying made too much noise and would attract arrancar to her. Crying meant weakness.

Crying meant death.

The best way to cry was to cry silently or, better yet, not at all.

For now, she made perfect use of rules one and five. Her mouth opened in anguish of the emotions that tortured her heart and soul, but no sound left it. She kept perfectly still inside of her hole as well, staying on her stomach as to be able to move as quickly as she could hence something come up.

Tears continued to stain the sand below her, her fists becoming wet from the salty water. Her eyes were scrunched up, trying to keep them from letting out too many more, but she couldn't help herself. Her mouth remained open, though no sound left it until she began whispering to herself.

"Pesshe…"

Her fists tightened.

"Dondochakka…"

'If only…'

"…I-…Itsugo…'

'If only Ichigo had been there, _none of this would've happened!_'

"_**Grrrrrrrhhhh"**_

Her eyes shot open. A heavy reiatsu surrounded her.

_Oh no._

_Not him.__** Anyone but him.**_

Her eyes remained trained on the ground as she hyperventilated. Then she began to shakily raise her gaze up to the opening of the hole she was in.

Those hoofed feet. Those hoofed feet that were always standing in an arrogant position.

_She knew them anywhere._

'No…nononononononono-he found me…-_he found me!_'

Her tears ceased coming from the shock she felt, slowly backing up as she saw the feet shuffle around, kicking the pillar every once in a while. She even saw drool drip to the ground. No. She couldn't die.

Not now.

Suddenly, a tiny, yet helpful memory kicked in.

Yes.

The back way. Her escape route.

Maybe she could sneak herself out.

Then she heard something land at the exit route. Her head whipped in that direction.

The feet were clawed and scratching at the pillar, though not directly at the hole.

She was cornered...

For the first time in a year-and-a-half, she was cornered.

And she had no clue how to counteract it.

"_**Grrrraaaahhhhrrrrrrrr…"**_

Her body shivered as more reiatsu began surrounding the pillar she was hiding under.

She was held captive in her own safe spot.

Her body trembled as she became an absolute nervous wreck. She couldn't take it. All of the arrancar…they were here for her. They were going to eat her.

**Kill** her.

She was **going to die**.

The tears began again, the temptation to cry out loud oh-so tempting. She could hear the noises of arrancar eating at each other as well as preparing to pounce on something.

Her knuckles turned white from how hard she clenched her fists. Had her nails not been filed down from digging so much, she would've caused her hands to bleed. It was so frustrating and nerve wracking. She couldn't even achieve the last wish that her comrades had for her.

'I'm sorry…Pessche…Dondochakka…I couldn't keep living after all…' she thought, her eyes closing for what she believed to be the last time.

"**Get her."**

She then heard something jump.

Then silence.

Then something crunch.

Then something wet plopping.

She breathed in.

She wasn't dead.

How was she not dead yet?

Her eyes reopened, shock filling them as she saw the hoofed feet still in front of her.

She remained staring at the feet, unmoving.

After some more crunching sounds and lots of bloody dripping, she began to notice the clumps of flesh that began to randomly plop behind the bull.

Then, she saw something that she never thought she'd see.

The hoofed feet shivered.

She saw the hoofed feet of the bull that had killed her family shiver…and she legitimately began feeling fear as well.

She began to understand the whoosh sounds of flying and jumping, which were quite nearly followed by crunching, mashing, and plopping.

They weren't here for her. They were here for something else at the top of the pillar, hence the flying and jumping…

But that something else was killing them with ease.

The bull's, for lack of better description, 'Fracción' was being killed off almost instantaneously.

The destruction suddenly stopped. The bull was the last one left. The bull had become the prey.

The shivering hooves backed up once. Then twice. Then three times.

Then they were out of sight into the bleak world that was Hueco Mundo.

It was gone. The monster that haunted her nightmares was gone. And with the hairy legs of the arrancar out of the way, she was able to see the destruction.

She kind of wanted to retch, and not in the healing kind of way.

Suddenly, she felt a heavy reiatsu surround her. It was nothing like anything she'd felt before. It was so concentrated with pure energy, it was a wonder to her that she didn't suffocate yet, and at the first feeling of it, she somewhat wanted to pee…but…

The reiatsu wasn't suffocating. Rather, much to her confusion, it was an almost, dare she say, _laid back_ reiatsu. It seemed that not much of it had been used, if any at all. The beast who owned the energy must've hardly been bothered by the group of arrancar that attacked it.

Oh, wait…her.

She was a beast, whoever it was. And…

What if it wanted to eat her? But the reiatsu said otherwise! It didn't seem to be hungering for anything…

Then she saw a foot.

The foot was covered with grayish armor, though it currently had bloody stains on it, quite akin to any normal arrancar. It looked smooth and strong, and she watched carefully as a twin foot joined the first one.

Espada.

With the kind of reiatsu that the being had, it had to already be an Espada…

Or was there something higher than espada now?

If so, why didn't she get that awfully important piece of informa-

That cloth is black.

Black.

Shinigami wear black.

What was a shinigami doing out there? There hadn't been a single shinigami in Hueco Mundo since…a little while after the 'Ichigo Incident' three years ago. What was one of those traitors doing here?

The feet moved to their tiptoes, stretching.

"Aaaah…that was refreshing, getting all that anger out. I needed to exercise a bit anyway. Ah, there's one still here, but I'm good for no-ooohhh…just what my back needed."

Nel's eyes widened.

'That voice…I know…that voice.'

It was a bit higher pitched than she remembered it, though not by much. It was still **that** voice...right?

"Hmm?"

She watched in slight terror as the feet turned to face the hole.

"Wait a second…this reiatsu is…"

The feet moved over to the left side of the hole.

Then she saw knees and black, torn cloth.

Then she saw arms and hands, coated in the same blood the shoes had been.

Then she saw a face.

The face was gentle, framed by striking, somewhat spiky orange locks, its shining, brown eyes widening at the sight of her, mouth becoming slightly open.

"Nel? Nel, is that you?"

Ichigo.

He wasn't an illusion, right?

No. He couldn't be.

Illusions wouldn't give off that strong of a reiatsu…right?

Oh wait…wasn't this a female? So it…

"Oh my God," the female with Ichigo's voice whispered, eyes widening even more at recognizing her.

"…Nel, come here."

The female reached her hand in.

No. Her eyes widened in final belief.

This was Ichigo, woman or not.

This was Ichigo.

Nel jetted out from her hiding spot, tears in her eyes.

"ITSUGO!"

* * *

><p>Ichigo caught the young arrancar in her arms with no trouble at all. The turquoise haired girl immediately wrapped her arms around her neck and held onto her as if she would disappear from under her. Ichigo reacted immediately by wrapping her arms around the child as well, holding her close, reassuring her that she wouldn't disappear.<p>

Nel was a mess. Her hair was filthy and in disarray, quite more so than she remembered. Her clothes had more rips in them and were dirty as well. Her hands were rougher then she remembered as well.

Tears traced with sand fell from the little girl's eyes. Her hands continued to cling and try to gather more of the elder one into her arms. Her arms wrapped a little tighter, but not to where it was uncomfortable.

Ichigo also noticed something else, something very wrong. She tilted her head to get a bit of a view of Nel's face.

Her hazel eyes were glassy with tears. Her face had streaks of sand on it from said tears running down it. Her mouth was open in a wail.

But all that came out were pants and wheezing. There was no cry. There was no scream. Just panting and wheezing, and the occasional restricted sob.

Ichigo's irides turned striking red, pupils turning to black pinpoints instantaneously.

No one cried silently unless they were used to it. Unless they had too.

Ichigo looked left and right, searching for Pesche and Dondochakka. They wouldn't ever allow their 'sister' to get into such a condition. They would never abandon her.

Yet there was nothing.

Considering Nel's condition, she suspected the worst.

Her eyes narrowed.

She had failed some of her family. Had she gotten out earlier…

Ah.

Now as not the time to brood.

Her eyes, still red and angry, pointed in the direction of a fast approaching reiatsu.

Ichigo stood to her feet slowly, still holding Neliel to her body. She closed her eyes, placing one hand into her hair, completely forgetting the blood she had on it, and wrapped the other arm around the girl to support her. She cooed to her, rubbing her hand through her hair in a soothing gesture.

"I'm so sorry you had to wait, Neliel," she whispered.

Reiatsu began to sift around Ichigo's feet, letting Nel know subconsciously that they were going to move.

"But don't worry…"

Her eyes snapped open, catching a split second sight of the other being finally having arrived.

"I'm here now."

Then they were gone.

* * *

><p>Ulquiorra, just for a second, thought he saw something standing a little distance in front of him, its reiatsu heavy and concentrated, but as he settled, there was nothing. Maybe, just maybe, he was seeing things.<p>

Because there wasn't a remnant of that reiatsu there. Not a single iota of it left behind.

All he could feel now was the last little trickles of the reiatsu from a bull-like arrancar…and the guts he had landed on.

In fact, the whole place was a blood bath. Limbs were laid out here and there. Chunks of flesh had bones still sticking out from them. Quite a few mask shards were scattered all over the sandy ground. Some of the masks were still somewhat there, their mouths open in some form of scream, but their heads weren't attached to their bodies, and if they were, their bodies weren't attached to…the rest of their body.

He could distinguish a few innards here and there. Some were quite literally coughing up a lung. Oh, look. Someone's heart was smashed up. And…was that particular one wearing their intestines around their neck like a noose?

Blood was soaking into the once white sand, dirtying it. He moved his gaze from the ground up to the top of the pillar.

It was dripping blood like a candle drips wax.

Slowly, and smoothly.

"Such unnecessary roughness," he muttered, eyes narrowing, "But at least I'm not bored anymore."


End file.
